100m bacteria a day keep the doctor away, apple research suggests

Study finds organic apples have more diverse and balanced bacterial community

The impact of an apple a day in keeping the doctor away may be partly down to the beneficial bacteria it carries and their subsequent colonisation of your gut, according to scientists.

A study has found that a typical apple carries more than 100m bacteria. Some of these microbes are important in maintaining a healthy gut environment, or microbiome, says Prof Gabriele Berg from Graz University of Technology, Austria, one of the authors of the research.